Honeymoon ideas?

[cottonmather0]

My Fiancee and I are thinking about an Alaska cruise in September for our honeymoon. Neither one of us has ever been on a cruise and I have to say that it's all fairly intimidating and bewildering.

Which ship?

Which route?

Is mid-September too late for Alaska?

Any suggestions on where to start or what to avoid would be greatly appreciated!

 

[halfdome86]

Read these message boards and you'll get a lot of great ideas. But remember to take everything with a grain of salt. We're all very opinionated so you might like something that others don't. Be sure to weigh your feelings when reading opinions.

I would suggest and highly recommend seeing Glacier Bay. It's spectacular and will narrow down your choices a lot which can make things simpler.

IMHO NCL is the best line for the money. You will find many anti-NCL people on these sites. We've gone to Alaska on NCL, HAL, and Celebrity. NCL might be a 1/2 step behind but they're also innovative (freestyle) and less expensive. For a first cruise you'll be happy I'd say.

There is certainly less chance of good weather in September. However we've always gone in August and run into rain on each trip. Heck, it's in a rain forest! But if you're prepared for it and pack ok you'll probably be allright in Sept.

I'm a balcony person too (remember...grain of salt). There will be many who disagree with me on paying extra for a balcony. To me the scenery is so great and never ending that I want to miss as little as possible, even when getting dressed.

I suggest find a decent cruise specialist agent. Many are mentioned on these sites. They will have the best deals (in our case cheaper than the lines directly) and the best cabin locations.

Try going to Yahoo travel or expedia or Travelocity. Plug into the cruise section for Alaska. You'll see all the options. Then you can begin to narrow your choices down as well. Once you've chosen a route and line and ship, it'll be much easier to get quotes from the agents. And do get a few quotes. You'll be surprised at the differences.

Good luck on your marriage and I'm sure all of us opinionated cruisers will agree......Alaska is spectacular and you won't be dissapointed no matter what you choose.

 

[PEB]

Alaska is a beautiful place to cruise. I have done so quite a few times and will do so many more times. I highly recommend taking a cruise that will take you all the way up to Ankorage or back from Ankorage. Even though the entire route is beautiful, in my opinion, the best views from the ship come after you have left the inside passage and go all the way up.

Glacier Bay is also the best of the glaciers to see from a cruise ship.

Most any cruise line will do a great job in Alaska so the best thing to do is find a cruise line that fits you. You can read reviews on the boards but the best way to do this is through a good TA. If a TA is not answering your questions or you feel they are not listening to what you are saying find another TA. Try to find a TA that does know something about all or most of the cruise lines not one that just pushes one cruise line.

Your TA should be trying to find out what you like not what they like.

 

[BSeabob]

You know halfdome......is pretty well bang on except for the opinionated thing. lol.
First cruise... go with a mainsteam line and let your TA (get one you like and knows cruising in Alaska) do their thing for you. Vancouver is a great spot to pre and post cruise if you have never been there so book it plan it and have fun.